A Winner and a Keeper
by pokecutie
Summary: A prince on an island needs a queen in order to be crowned king and so the search begins
1. Gathering the Girls

Hey, everyone! I'd like to say, first of things, thanks for going through the trouble of reading and reviewing my stories. I hope you all continue doing so. Another thing I'd like to say is that this story you're reading right now was made with the help from someone on this site. Rated L for Lemons. The both of us worked together in the development of this story. So, if you like A Winner and a Keeper, be sure to give props to Rated L for Lemons and not just me. So enjoy!

Also, lemon scenes will come later in this story but, if you're not 18 years or older, still don't read this. The Pokémon used in this story belongs to Gamefreak, Nintendo, etc. Words in italics are either a character's thoughts or words being stressed. It depends on the situation so pay attention as you read.

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A Winner and a Keeper

Chapter 1 – Gathering the Girls

Somewhere out in the great, big ocean was an island. It's bigger than your average island but not big enough to be called main land. There's something about this island that made it different from the others. It was not inhabited by humans but pokemon don't live on it, either. At least, not pokemon who aren't of a certain type. For some peculiar reason, only psychic-type Pokemon, along with some exceptions, lived on the island, leading everyone who lived on it to call it, predictably, Psychic Island.

Another characteristic of Psychic Island that made said piece of land different was the fact that there was a royal lineage living there, too. This family was in charge of the safety, well-being, and harmony of Psychic Island. They had succeeded in keeping peace for generations, and hope to continue doing so for many generations to come.

In the very center of the island was a castle made of stone.

Sitting in a chair in his bedroom was a yellow and brown bipedal pokemon with a large fox-like tail behind his abdomen, which was marked with three red, wavy lines. There was a red star in between his eyes, which were being used to read the written laws of Psychic Island. To help in his concentration, he tapped on the table in front of him with his one silver spoon.

This Kadabra was the current heir to the throne.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. The seated Psi Pokemon turned his head and then heard a voice that penetrated through the door.

"Prince Reynard! Your mother and father have requested you to meet them at the throne room!"

"I will be right there!" Reynard responded.

Reynard placed down his copy of the island's rules and got up from his chair. The castle being a large one, it took the royal prince a few minutes to reach the throne room. Eventually, he entered, seeing his parents, the king and queen, sitting on their regal chairs.

On Reynard's left side was his father, Casey, or, as he was better known as, King Casey. He was a brown pokemon with an oblong head, an indentation on each side. King Casey waved at his son with one of his hands, both of which had multicolored, round digits for fingers. Then the king got off of his throne, landing on his small legs with no difficulty. After landing, the Beheeyem rushed towards Reynard to hug him, being a family male.

As Reynard hugged his father, he looked at his mother, who was seated on the right side. She smiled upon seeing her son and got off her throne to wrap him up in a hug, too.

Espa, or Queen Espa, used to be a Kadabra like him until she evolved. Now she was an incredibly intelligent Alakazam, a yellow and brown bipedal pokemon like Reynard but minus the red markings and tail, with the addition of a second silver spoon.

The hug later broke apart and Reynard asked his parents what they needed from him.

"Well, son," Queen Espa started, "you remember that we were going to prepare you for becoming king, correct? Your birthday is, after all, only half a year away."

He nodded, "Yes, mom. I remember. I take it preparations are underway?"

"Why yes, they are!" King Casey said rather happily.

Reynard couldn't help but feel a little saddened.

Having noticed this, Espa spoke up, "Reynard, sweetie, you may not like this but, at the very least, you will have a choice in who you want as your queen. It's just that these are the laws and traditions of Psychic Island."

"Of course, mom. I simply couldn't help it," Reynard responded.

"Additionally, it's not like we don't know how you feel," the Beheeyem assured him. "All of our ancestors have gone through this and at least some had their own conflicting opinions about it. Even I was the same way. Until, that is, your mother had put an end to it. I'm certain this will turn out the same way for you!"

The prince cracked a small smile. "Thanks, dad." Unsure of what else to say, he asked, "So when and where will I meet them?"

Casey answered, "Espa and I have already ordered a large portion of our soldiers to gather all of the available females. You should be able to meet them by tomorrow. As for location, you'll meet them in the Residential Areas, you know, that large clearing you could see from your bedroom window."

"So, son, be sure to wash yourself up before you meet them. Make yourself more presentable. Tomorrow, the guards will escort you. Gavin, the Pokemon we put in charge of the tests, will provide his assistance," the Alakazam told him.

"Yes, mom." he nodded again, holding back a resentful sigh.

One more group hug was done and, after a chat about other, happier things, everyone split apart. The king and queen seated themselves back on their thrones, wishing happiness for their son, who headed back to his room, still feeling upset.

Reynard knew it was required for him to find a queen in order to be crowned. The way everyone on the island saw it, caring for the sake of an entire island was too much for only one to think about, so they chose to rely on two. Additionally, everyone saw the king as the enforcer of the law while the queen would help him in caring for everyone.

Reynard had been brought up right. The prince was taught the difference between right and wrong, treated with love and given attention by his parents. He had learned how to care for others and not to look down on them.

However, Reynard was worried the girl he'd be mated to wouldn't be like that. This girl might be concerned with only herself and would only like him for his status, not for him himself. There had been several times when Reynard was outside the castle that Pokemon on the island would try getting close to him for such reasons. The prince also remembered his family's history. There had been some close calls with getting a conceited king or queen.

The Psi Pokemon prince in this particular pickle wanted to refuse, but he knew he couldn't. If Reynard were to refuse, he'd become a regular Pokemon, having to take care of himself like everyone else. That would be bad because, much to his humiliation, Reynard had absolutely no idea on how to do that, having had everything done for him since birth.

So the prince had to go through with this. Besides, there was also the sake of Psychic Island to think about. If Reynard backed out, his parents would have to adopt or make another child, hoping to still have it in them to rule for a few more years.

Finally, it would be a waste for the prince to not be crowned since the royal Kadabra was taught since a very young age about the laws of Psychic Island, how to manage a kingdom, and how to care for an island.

Reynard sighed as he reentered his room and sat down on his bed, resting his head in his hands.

_I'll just have to do it then. I just hope I'll find myself a nice girl like dad did._

While the prince was worrying about that, the soldiers sent by the king and queen were busy gathering the girls. The group consisted of a Wobbuffet, Meowstic, Medicham, Metagross, Metang, Bronzong, and even some Gallade.

It was going to take all day to gather every girl acceptable for candidacy of queen, partly due to some requirements. First, the female had to be single, not yet claimed by another male. Second, it was preferred if the girl was around the same age as the prince, at least 17 years old.

A girl in particular, who fulfills both standards, was a bit far away from the castle, a Wobbuffet heading her way.

In the meantime, this girl was busy chasing a little, green bird pokemon with a single red head crest, mostly red clawed feet, and red tail feathers. The speeding Natu also had wings of that same red color, along with some black and yellow.

"Dez, you need to come back here and eat your fruit! They're healthy for you and they're yummy!"

"No way, big sister! I'm not- oof!" Dez was cut off in his objection by accidentally tripping over a small rock on the ground. "Owowowowow!" Now Dez was yelling in pain.

His sister picked up the hurt Natu, patting his head soothingly. Of course, she gave him a bit of a lecture. "I hope this teaches you to not run off when you're needed. Now let's eat some fruit. We have to eat." She turned around and walked off, sighing, then spoke under her breath. "Times like this I wish I was back in the days when I was still an adorable, little Natu."

The Xatu was a larger bird-like Pokemon with white wings outlined by a black stripe at the edges, the dark line followed by a red one. Near the bottom of her body were a pair of yellow stripes. If this Mystic Pokemon was a boy, there would have been three instead. On her chest was a design of sorts that resembled a pair of red eyes. Her head was topped with two red head crests that seemed smoothed down instead of sticking up like her brother's. She also didn't have tail feathers like him. Like her brother, though, the Xatu was mostly green and had red clawed feet.

The Xatu headed towards a cut tree stump with various pieces of fruit on it. Already there and eating were two more Natu, although one had more ruffled-up plumage than Dez and the other one was a couple inches taller than both of the first two.

Their sister announced to them, "Hi, Fortune! Hi, Dustin! I brought Dez back! I hope you left some food for him to eat."

"Of course we did, Sight. No need to worry," Fortune, the slightly bigger than usual Natu, assured his sister. Fortune was the eldest one of the three boys.

Dustin, the Natu with ruffled red plumage, nodded and then resumed eating. He was the youngest one of them all, not just of the boys.

Sight placed Dez down near the tree stump and checked him over for injuries. There wasn't any sign of injury but, just in case, she found some Oran Berries.

"Be sure to eat these; they'll heal you right up," Sight told him.

"Ooooohh… do I have tooooo?" The protesting Natu whined.

"Yes, you have to. It wouldn't have happened if you didn't run away to begin with. Now eat."

Dez whined again but began eating along with his two brothers. When everything had settled down, Sight sat down and began eating alongside her male siblings.

During the middle of eating, however, the Wobbuffet from earlier came across the 4 feasting pokemon. He waved his flat arms around in an almost frantic manner, rushed towards them, and called out, "Hey, the four of you there! I'll need your attention and cooperation, please!"

They all turned to the pokemon who called to them. They saw the blue pokemon whose body seemed almost like an oval and had four stubby legs, two on each side. Trailing behind him was a black tail with a pair of eyes. The Wobbuffet's face had a pair of scrunched eyes and a mouth with a jagged upper lip. Upon closer inspection, however, Sight gasped, seeing this Wobbuffet had the mark of the royal family: a golden four pointed star, on his forehead, indicating this Patient Pokemon as one of their soldiers.

The Wobbuffet stopped when he was right next to her, panting deeply. When he regained his breath, he said, "Excuse me, but I need to know if there's any single females at least 17 years old? It's not for me, if you were going to accuse me of it. It's for the prince of the royal family. He will, after all, be of adult age to be crowned and will, of course, need a queen."

"There's only one girl in our family who's a girl and that's our big sis. She's the Xatu right here at this tree stump," Fortune answered honestly.

Dustin only nodded once more and then continued chomping down on his share of fruit.

"Yeah!" Dez joined in, agreeing with them. "And she's 18, too!"

"Really?" the Patient Pokemon turned to Sight. "Is that true?"

Sight sighed and said, "Yes, that's true. I taught my brothers not to lie when it's not needed."

"Then I need you to come with me. It's absolutely necessary that you do." At that, the Wobbuffet offered a finger-less arm.

Sight, however, was hesitant. She looked over to her left, her father, Fate, standing a short distance away.

He was a Xatu like her but was a duller green with an equally dull red head crest and worn-out white wings. He also had bags under his red eyes. Fate had been like that for years, ever since his mate passed away. It was hard for Sight, Fortune, Dez, and Dustin, too, since she was their mother, but Fate took it the hardest. Ever since his mate's passing, Fate had been looking into the future and past at the same time, as Xatu usually do. However, it was all he ever did, barely making time to sleep. Fate would sometimes cry as he looked into the two separate timelines, to the point that his eyes become red like they were now.

Sight was the eldest of the four children, so she took it upon herself to take care of everyone. As a result, she normally didn't have much time for herself. In the little free time she did have, Sight would try persuading her father to come back to her and the Natu trio, but had little success.

The Mystic Pokemon knew that, if she were to come along with the Patient Pokemon, there'd be no one to look after her brothers since her father still didn't seem to be in any condition to do so. Fortune was already 12, but he was still a child.

Having noticed her reluctance, the Wobbuffet satisfied the Xatu by saying, "If you're worried about leaving your family behind, you have the option of taking them along with you. You'll all stay in the Residential Areas, the place where the available females and likely their families will stay until the final choice for the queen has been made."

"REALLY!?" Dustin exclaimed, no longer noiseless.

"I want to go! I want to go!" Dez cried out over and over.

"Yeah, it sounds like fun!" Fortune added.

The next thing Sight knew, all three of the boys hopped up and down, begging her to take them along. At seeing that the problem relating to who'd take care of her brothers was resolved, and deciding to asking someone trustworthy over at the Residential Areas to look after them, the Xatu reluctantly gave in.

Sight turned to the Wobbuffet and sighed, "All right, fine, we'll go with you." The little Natus cheered and dashed ahead, having forgotten about their meals. "Wait!"

They stopped and looked at her, wondering what was wrong, the Wobbuffet doing the same.

Sight explained, "I'll need to tell our father first, then we can go. We can't leave just like that."

The three brothers and Wobbuffet agreed on that and waited for Sight to come back from telling their dad of the news.

She stepped up to her dad, who was as motionless as ever, "Um… Daddy? I don't know if you can hear me or not, especially since you never respond in any way whatsoever, but it's that time now. You know, when the prince has to get a queen to be by his side when he's crowned? There's no guarantee it's going to be me, but the royal family just wants to be sure, not missing a single available female. It might be good for our family if I do get picked, though... I doubt they'll bother much with me... but still. It's worth a shot,"

Her father didn't move at all, not even to blink. There was a hurting, almost burning type of feeling forming in the back of Sight's throat. She did her best not to cry, determined to not let any tears form and fall. This type of thing with her dad had happened way too many times before.

After saying choked good-byes with Fate and explaining that he won't be coming along with them, Sight went along with her brothers and the Wobbuffet, following the Patient Pokemon to the Residential Areas. It was a lengthy walk, mainly because the Wobbuffet checked the surroundings closely in order to not miss any ladies who fulfilled the two forenamed ideals, but everyone eventually made it there.

It was a large area with many dwellings made of found natural materials. In the center of it all, there was a huge clearing with dozens of children, all relatives of the other girls there, playing together. Sight's brothers cheered once again and rushed towards them, eager to play with other kids.

"Be careful and play nice! And don't get lost!" Sight yelled to them as they ran.

The Wobbuffet tapped her on the shoulder, causing the Xatu to turn her head to him.

He informed her, "Well, I'd better be going. We still need to check if there's any more girls we're looking for. Find a Sigilyph with a purple sash around the black appendage popping out of his head. He goes by the name of Gavin and is in charge of the tests needed to determine our queen. Gavin will find you and your brothers a room for you all to stay. Have a good day!"

At that, the Wobbuffet left, back to his assigned task given by the king and queen.

Sight immediately went around, looking for Gavin while keeping an eye on the three Natus. The Xatu didn't have to search for long because a flying, colorful, spherical pokemon suddenly swooshed in front of her. Sight saw what she was looking for most. A purple sash around the pokemon's black head appendage. Although, she also noticed it had an extra cyan eye along with the matching two lower-placed ones.

"Hello, there," the Sigilyph said. "My name is Gavin, the one supervising the tests we will put these ladies here to in order to resolve the problem of who our new queen will be."

"Hello, Gavin. I'm Sight and I came here with my three younger brothers, Fortune, Dez, and Dustin. Oldest to youngest, respectively. They're all Natu."

"I see…" the Avianoid Pokemon mused, writing it down with a quill made from a Pokemon's feather on a piece of paper, both of which were held psychically by his... Psychic.

Sight was a little puzzled at what he was doing. "Um… Excuse me?"

Gavin switched his attention back to her, seeming to have finished writing. "Yes, what is it?"

"I was told by one of the soldiers that you would find me and my brothers some place to sleep?"

"Ah, yes, of course, I will. It will be a room with two beds. Since Natus are such small Pokemon, your brothers can share one. Also, be sure to have one of these on you."

That was the first time Sight had noticed the woven basket, which was also held up in the air by Psychic. In that basket were some kind of golden headbands. They were rather elastic, which Sight found out when one of them was placed around her head. In the center of the headband was a hallowed circle with a four-pointed star inside. Sight quickly looked around to see many other girls with those same kind of things on their heads, too, albeit some of them were placed rather awkwardly.

"This is to let me know which females have already arrived and which ones just did. Please keep that on until either you're sent back home or have been decided to be queen. Whichever one comes first." Gavin explained.

"Ok. I will," Sight promised the Sigilyph.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Sight. I will find you again once a room for you and your family has been found, probably after most of this is done. In the meantime, enjoy your day."

"Thank you!" Sight called out as Gavin turned and left, resuming his overseeing-related duties.

The family of four had fun throughout the day until it became dark. The soldiers had gotten most of the females by then, if not all of them. Sight, Fortune, Dez, and Dustin were taken to their room, which, much to their surprise, was underground. They learned there were several underground rooms and they were made to make more living space in the Residential Area. Gavin assured them they did it with extreme caution so it would be safe.

Their room was a plain, rectangular space with walls of dirt. The light sources in there were burning candles inside jars, hanging from firmly placed hooks on the walls. As for the beds, they were simply mattresses on the floor of terra firma.

"It's not glamorous, I know," Gavin voiced, "but these living conditions will only be temporary. Besides, we get some rather nice things that wash ashore on the beaches. Anyways, until you all either go back home or move into the castle, be sure to put up with this."

At that, the Sigilyph left.

The three Tiny Bird Pokemon leaped on one of the mattresses, too excited to fall asleep right away. Realizing this, the Mystic Pokemon laid down on the available mattress and waited until they got tired.

Later, Sight stared at the ceiling, fully taking in all that was happening right now. Reynard was doing the same thing, but, instead of the ceiling, he was looking out through his bedroom window. He was able to see the Residential Area through it, just as his father said.

At this very moment, those two were thinking of the exact same thing.

_As much as I personally don't like this, it has to be done. Hopefully, all of this will be over before I even realize it..._


	2. Introductions

Hey everyone. It's been a long time. Since Christmas, actually. Yeah, I know. I remember getting a review saying they hope I update more often. If anyone cares, then the paragraph below will explain that. You can read the bottom two paragraphs before the story starts, too, provided you care. Also, I'm not trying to be rude or any other bad thing, in case someone got that impression; I'm just saying the words I wanna say in the way I wanna say it. If not, then just skip ahead to where the chapter starts. But no matter what you pick to do, I just wanna say, from what it seems, you all are being patient for me to get around to making and posting these chapters and stories. Thanks, it's much appreciated.

I had a friend. Or, at least, someone I enjoyed talking to. I shared with him my ideas, including ideas of rape. He felt so disturbed by them that he felt like cutting off a part of himself. I'm sure you all have an idea of what part that would be since I'm using guy pronouns. Anyways, I try not to talk to him about it since I now know it makes him feel uncomfortable. But after I shared my ideas, the guy tells me about how many other people will feel similarly to how he feels. Well, maybe not so much they feel like cutting parts of themselves off, especially other guys, but still disgusted or something all the same. That person also gives me advice on my stories and even help me on them from time. But then it became to the point where the guy just gives me more and more work to do, all the while telling me over and over how he wants to help and is sick and tired over feeling useless to help. I agreed to let him help me so I can lessen my work and now it's something like null and void. I already spend almost 24 hours a day in front of the computer screen, most days being spent on the same stories all you readers read, getting breaks to provide myself with basic needs. Not to mention, admittedly, I give myself day offs so I won't spend every single god damn day writing. I may like writing but I don't want to spend every single day doing it, just so you know. I believe that's only common sense or something so it's not so surprising. Anyways, as a result of this person I enjoyed talking to, I don't give a damn about updating often anymore. You probably like that I still like writing and pleasing you all enough to not stop writing period but the reason why I used to update so often was so you all would be pleased by the fact you wouldn't have to wait long before the next story or chapter. I personally liked it when my favorite writers don't keep me waiting but now I at least have an idea of how they feel about that.

Also, provided that, again, anyone cares, could someone tell me if my rape stories really are that bad? Am I so lousy of a writer I can't make rape stories without anyone reading them feel completely repulsed by it? Yes, rape is an incredibly bad thing, a horrible thing, and nothing about those kind of scenarios presented in my stories are so not realistic even in the slightest but I'm just writing ficitional stories about it. Is it still horrible? Even though many other people across the USA or even the world are writing rape stories and it will highly likely not stop now? And it's not just those kind of stories. I had other ideas and I shared them, too. Like before, the person I enjoyed talking to felt uncomfortable and said many other people will feel the same. It's probably unprofessional or whatever for me to reveal I have insecurities in my stories but I can't honestly be the only writer ever who feels that way or has felt that way. The guy I was talking about in the above paragraph pretty much crushed a huge chunk of my self-confidence when it came to my stories. Unless several other people tell me otherwise, my lack of confidence will get to the point where, after I'm done with the stories I'm working on right now, I'll stop posting chapters and stories on this site altogether. Apparently all the reviews I get and read from you readers wasn't enough. Sorry. Really sorry.

One more thing, if anyone does respond to my questions in paragraph right above this one, I'd like them to be in PMs or private messaging or whatever you call it. The way I see it, the public reviews are to tell people how you think about a story. Anything else should be in private messaging. And while I'm at it, when you give me advice in how to improve my stories, should you choose to do it, then it would do me good if you were as specific as possible. Vague doesn't do me any good. At all. For example, like this one reviewer who said Zorrah from Star in His Life was exactly like Angel from Looking for Heaven. Here's more or less what I was thinking: _How? The two girls are completely different pokemon, they have completely different personalities, they go through completely different things, they interact with completely different characters who also aren't similar in the exact same ways._ Because the reviewer never specified what they meant, their review made zero sense for me. And, for some reason, I'm more comfortable putting things like this here rather than directly asking said reviewer what they meant. I'm one of those people who get nervous about initiating conversation with total strangers. Even online. My Asperger's Syndrome may or may not have something to do with that. So, yeah, about answering my questions and making the advice very specific. Well, please and thanks. The same goes for putting your opinions and advice about the stories in reviews and putting other stuff in private messaging.

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Chapter 2 – Introductions

Sight continued sleeping on the mattress until she heard someone go about the earthy hallways, who was sent down there to wake up everyone who was sleeping underneath the ground.

"Everyone down here must wake up and eat breakfast, the first and foremost meal of the day! Not to mention the ladies will need to prepare themselves to meet the prince!"

That last one was more than enough to get the pokewomen around up and moving. Most were waking up others, whether they were friends or family, and then leaving to go outside. Some, at the very least, got up, albeit slowly and groggily. There were even some who immediately rushed out, almost ramming into or trampling over the one who was waking them up in the first place.

"Ladies! Even if you're excited, please! Control yourselves! _Hmmph!_" Gavin continued down the halls and waking everybody else who were still asleep.

As for the aforementioned Xatu, she got up and stretched her wings. Then she looked at her three little Natu brothers who were waking up as well, although they were groggy while doing so.

"Good morning, my dear brothers," the Mystic Pokemon greeted them.

"Mornin'," they greeted back in unison, using a sleepy tone of voice.

"I think we'll be fed at the clearing above us so we better hurry while there's still food. So come on, wake up," she gently urged.

"All right, all right," the three said, again, in unison.

Sight checked to see if the tunnels were not so crowded before letting her brothers out. Once she saw that they weren't, the Xatu let her brothers out, making sure to stay close to them as they all got up to the surface. Just as the Mystic Pokemon had said, she and her brothers were fed at the clearing.

When everyone was, more or less, done eating, Gavin made an announcement. "Okay, ladies, now that breakfast is done, it is time to get yourselves ready to meet the prince, although the procedure of which will take a several weeks. Still, be certain to not treat this with little regard. As for how the arranged meetings will be done, we shall introduce each candidate one by one to the prince in alphabetical order according to their given names. Additionally, the knights of Psychic Island will escort a group of ten to the castle and then back here to the Residential Area. The knights will also watch over that same group at the castle so the others won't interfere with the one who is meeting with the prince at the time. Finally, I will hover high in the air as a sign to you all that I'm about to announce who will make up the group of ten who will then be escorted. Now here are the ladies who will make up the first group…"

Once the Sigilyph was done, a majority of the girls in the competition talked loudly among themselves, all of them either nervous, excited, or both. However, Sight focused on caring for her brothers instead of getting ready to meet the prince since she knows it will be a long while before she meets the young heir himself. Although, despite that, she did have wonder some things about said young heir.

_I wonder how the prince will be like? Maybe I'll get some clues from the other girls when they come back from the castle._

However, the Mystic Pokemon found that the girls who go to and come back from the castle are sworn to secrecy or else they'll lose their candidacy for queen. The girls who succeeded in impressing the prince well enough for more consideration, that is. Still, Sight didn't mind. She merely wanted to take care of her brothers, which was exactly what she was doing while they played with other children in the Residential Area.

One of the Natu, Dez, was in a play battle with a Fennekin and Meditite because they were playing knights and princesses.

"Ha ha, foul villain! You'll never have the princess for yourself!" the Meditate pokemon declared, clearly the knight in this pretend game.

The Fox Pokemon, being the princess, cried out, "Yeah, you big meanie! I'll never marry you!"

"_Ew!_ You can be with your knight or whatever after this; I just wanna get to the fighting part. _RAAAAAAAAH!"_ The Tiny Bird Pokemon charged in a hop at the pretend-knight and tumbled about with him. Sooner or later, Dez was accidently thrown off and had rolled around, finally stopping when bumping into someone. That someone was immediately tended to by someone else when they become worried and concerned for them.

The Natu got up and looked at who he bumped into. One of the pokemon was as tall and as round as Dez but was yellow and lacked bird-like features . He also had something like braided red-and-white ropes on his head and a jingle bell-like sound was heard when he got bumped into. Dez recognized this pokemon as a kid like him and as a Chingling.

As for the other pokemon, she was round like the Bell Pokemon but was white and had a yellow, bulb-shaped thing on her head. She also had a long flap underneath her, about half of it being red. Dez had recognized this pokemon as an older girl and as a Chimecho.

The little Natu approached both pokemon and apologized, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that."

The Wind Chime Pokemon, once she confirmed the little psychic-type she was checking on was okay, turned to the psychic bird. She said, "Tha-that's okay. I s-saw that it was only an accident."

The Bell Pokemon turned around and waved. "Hi. My name's Roli and this is my sister, Belle. What's yours?"

"Dez. And I'm playing with some friends. How about you join me? It can make up for bumping into you just now."

"W-wait! Wha-what activities are y-you and your friends doing? Who's wa-watching all of you? Will I-I ha-have to do th-that all by myself?" Belle asks, clearly worried.

"Don't worry. I'm with my sister," the Tiny Bird Pokemon assured her. "You can even meet her. Come on." As he hopped off to find mentioned Xatu, he called out to the ones he was playing with. "Hey, guys, I'll join back in when I'm done with something! I'll be right back!"

The little fire fox and blue martial artist nodded and told him to hurry so they can all play some more. Followed by the sound-related brother-sister duo, Dez soon found his sister and yelled out to her.

"Sis! Hey, Sis! Over here!"

The Mystic Pokemon being referred to heard him and walked over, still keeping an eye on the other two Natu brothers of hers.

"Hello, Dez. I see you brought some more friends with you."

"Yep! Sure did!" The little Natu replied excitedly. "This Chimecho is Belle and this Chingling is her brother, Roli. I'm inviting Roli to play with me and some other friends. So can he? Can he?"

"Well, that depends if it's all right with Belle. Is it?" Sight asked, turning to the Chimecho in question.

"We-Well, ye-yes, it's ok. O-only if ev-everyone plays nice," the still nervous psychic-type responded.

At that, Dez got behind Roli and dragged him along. "We will! Promise! And thanks!" Then, when approaching the Fennekin and Meditite who were still where he left them, he called out, "Hey! This Chingling, Roli, is gonna join us! He can be my lackey!"

"Wait, what?! I don't wanna be anyone's lackey!"

There was a bit of arguing although it wasn't all that serious. Once everything had settled down, the children resumed to playing, the little Chingling now joining them. Soon, they were all enjoying themselves, pretending to be all sorts of things. Their sisters, in the meantime, were having a conversation with one another, although the Xatu did more of the talking.

"Today seems to be a lovely day. Perfect for the children to play outside," the Mystic Pokemon started.

"Ye-yes. It is," the Wind Chime Pokemon responded, still sounding nervous.

The psychic-type bird felt a little nervous herself, attempting conversation with someone who isn't more of the talking type. However, she wasn't discouraged. While watching over her brothers, Sight kept up the conversation that went only between the two of them, noticing that Belle is at least responding to her despite her anxiety-filled demeanor.

"So, wherever your home on the island is, how's it like over there?"

"I-It's fine li-living there. Per-Perhaps a bi-bit quiet."

"Really? Quiet how?"

"We-well, we ha-have few neighbors th-there."

"Ah, I see. It's kind of like it is around where I and my family lives. As a result, my brothers value any new friend they can get back at home. Although, you'd think an island would feel a little more populated. Maybe the island is bigger than I have always thought it was. In fact, just look at the Residential Area!"

"I-I suppose so."

"And maybe, after this whole search for the new queen is over, we can somehow let our brothers see each other? They seem to be having so much fun and it would be so great if they could still meet after all of this."

"Ye-Yes. Roli looks like he's having fun, t-too."

"Where do you and Roli live, anyways? I'm hoping it's not far."

"If I re-remember right, we lived abo-about... 300 yards from here. From tha-that direction." The sound-related psychic pointed her flap to her right. "Ho-How about you and your brothers?"

"It should be about that same distance, too, but... it's in the exact opposite direction."

"W-wow, th-that sounds like a long way when you add th-the two distances together."

"Darn. You're right. Our brothers could have really enjoyed being friends too." Then the Xatu in this conversation laughed a bit before making a joke, "Maybe one of us should become queen so we could live a little closer to one other."

However, the Chimecho took it seriously. "Wh-what!? One of us!? We-well, ma-maybe you can do it. Yo-you're more outgoing than me. I-I'm not sure how I can appeal to anyone."

"Well, you definitely can't quit before you even start, that's for sure!" A new voice cried out, now joining the conversation.

The Mystic and Wind Chime Pokemon turned towards the voice to see who it was who spoke. It was a pink and peach-colored pokemon with big, pink lips and whose head seemed to be covered in something like short, blonde hair.

"I'm sorry but who are you?" Sight asked the Smoochum.

"Ah, sorry about that. My name is Sue. I'm one of the candidates who'll try to become the new queen."

"What? You are? But you're a Smoochum..." the Xatu voiced, feeling a bit confused.

That made the Kiss Pokémon upset. "I'll have you know that I have absolutely no interest in evolving and I'm planning on staying as a Smoochum my whole, entire life! So there!"

"Oh, sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it like that," the Mystic Pokemon began to explain in a hurry. "It's just that most of the unevolved pokemon here are brothers, sisters, or relatives of some other sort and most of the girls in this competition are, well, not in their basic stage of evolution."

"You still shouldn't just go around making your own assumptions!" Sue insisted, sticking her tongue out and pulling down her lower eyelid, although that made both Sight and Belle question her age.

The Xatu of the group then asked, "Well, if you don't mind me asking, how come you want to stay as a Smoochum and not become a Jynx?"

The Smoochum got rather upset at that question, voice stammering and face scrunching up. However, she managed to answer, "Well... because... I'm cuter this way. Hey, sorry, but I gotta go. Maybe I'll talk to you girls later."

At that, the Kiss Pokemon left, leaving the two other female psychics confused.

"I-I don't think you sh-should have asked that," the Chimecho stated, watching the pre-evolved psychic practically stomping away.

"You think so?" the Xatu asked, also watching the same thing as her friend.

"Ye-yes, I do. It must have been per-personal for her if sh-she reacted like that."

"Oh, I didn't mean to do that. I was just curious about it."

"I-I think it's fine. Es-especially if you apologize should you meet her later."

"That sounds like a good idea. Thank you."

At that point, the Wind Chime and Mystic Pokémon resumed their conversation. In the meantime, groups of ten continued trekking to the castle. While there was a fairly large amount of girls who have succeeded in making a good first impression to the prince, there was also a good amount of girls who were sent home. It was making the remaining candidates increasingly nervous and anxious.

For Belle, however, she was only getting more and more glum as time went on. Sight had noticed this and tried cheering her up, placing a wing on what she thought was a shoulder or something close to it.

"Belle, are you ok? You seem rather sad. To be honest, I thought you'd feel something like building anxiety. That's what many other females here seem to feel."

"Wha-what about you, then?" The Chimecho questioned.

The Xatu titled her head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I-I mean when you have to go meet the prince. You don't seem anxious, either, so how do you feel about it?"

The Mystic Pokemon thought deeply about this, wondering about how she would feel if - and when - it was her who would meet Psychic Island's royal heir to the throne. Later, she answered, "I… I guess it… oh, I don't know. I was focusing more on my brothers than I was about that. As nice as a life of a queen must be, I have more things that are more important to me to worry about."

"Really? Yes, I have my own brother to care about, too and yes, I only have one and you have three but still. I'm really feeling the pressure of all this despite my current responsibilities. Aren't you feeling pressured by all of this, too?"

"...Nnnnnooo...? I don't... think so? Well, right now is the first time I'm seriously thinking about this so I can't really say for sure."

The Wind Chime Pokemon thought,_ It would be the funniest thing if she managed to become our new queen._

After that day, it became something like a routine for everyone there in the Residential Area. Play, talk, eat, sleep, although not necessarily in that order. Not to mention girls were being selected and girls were going home. Sometime during the ninth day, it was time for one specific Chimecho to meet the prince.

Sight was trusted to look after Roli, something Belle was grateful for. Not that it was a bad thing but, if she didn't make any friends to trust or didn't have any family with her who was old enough, then she would have needed to place her brother under the care of some of Psychic Island's knights who was assigned with the task of babysitting.

The Xatu and her brothers, with the little Chingling alongside them, wished good luck to the anxious Chimecho, making her just a little bit better.

"Well, Belle, I wish you the best of luck. I'm certain you'll make it far in this competition," the Mystic Pokémon said, trying to further lift her friend's spirits.

"We-well, thank you for trying to encourage me b-but I don't think I should get my hopes up. Th-there's still so many girls here and we've only reached the letter B."

"But I don't think you'll be doing yourself any good worrying about so much about it. You should just do your very best with some more confidence. Ok?"

"We-well... o-ok, if you say so."

The Wind Chime Pokemon waved good-bye to the group of psychic-type birds as said group waved bye back. Then she hovered over to where a certain Sigilyph was, trying to listen for her name.

"...Belinda...Belisma...Bella...and Belle." the Avianoid Pokemon called out as he went down the list of the next group of ten, a pause between each name in order to hear the girl in question respond in order to know that they're present.

Belle made herself known once her name was called. Then she started heading to the castle along with the rest of the girls and the knights who went with them along the way. It was a long walk, something of which the group of girls didn't like but also didn't mind it so much due to anticipation to meeting Psychic Island's prince.

As for the prince himself, he's feeling rather tired. It was by far the ninth day of going through all the candidates that he did and Reynard greatly desires to spend the whole day resting in bed instead. Alas, the regal Kadabra was on his way to meet the next group of ten because he knew he had to do it.

_Everything has been doing well by far. By the time this whole thing is over, you'll have found yourself a good mate. Hopefully one that I would love as well. Either way, I just need to keep it up the good work and get through this, _the Psi Pokemon told himself, trying to get himself more motivated for the day.

Reynard reached a room in the castle known as the Meeting Room. It may sound like a type of room where Psychic Island's king and queen discuss important matters and make huge decisions regarding the island and its inhabitants but that's actually the room right next to the throne room. This room in particular is where the heir or heiress meets all of the candidates for their future queen or king. Where those very same candidates attempt to make a good impression and where the two of them check to see exactly how compatible they are with each other. It's also where the Kadabra took a seat and waited for the next group of ten ladies, who will no doubt, one by one, come to the room to meet him.

Eventually, the girls and the escorting knights have reached the castle. They stopped at a room where the female candidates can use to pretty themselves up for when they meet Prince Reynard. As soon as they entered that room, the women got to work in making themselves a bit more attractive, using flowers, ribbons, and other kinds of accessories that they had at their deposal.

After a while, the girls were called to meet the prince. As time went on, the Chimecho was as nervous as ever while she was waiting for her turn. Eventually, it finally came. The psychic type in question was called and escorted to the Meeting Room. Once inside, she looked around the room. It was of average size for a room in the more common houses and had a round, wooden table and a couple of chairs. One of those chairs were already occupied by a certain Psi Pokemon.

The Wind Chime Pokémon's anxiety increased greatly upon seeing the regal heir sitting in front of her. Especially since, before she was called over to this room, the only thing she could think of doing in preparation for this meeting was a pink bow around the yellow suction cup thing on her head.

As for Reynard, he took notice of Belle and her reaction when he saw him. He saw that she was nervous, just like a good number of girls before her, and so tried to make her feel more comfortable, starting with getting up from his seat and introducing himself.

"Hello, there. You may already know my name but it would be rude to not to introduce myself anyway. Especially so if a lady introduces herself before that. I am Reynard, the prince of Psychic Island. What is your name?"

"M-m-my na-name is Be-Belle. It's n-n-nice to meet y-you."

"The feeling is mutual," the Kadabra agreed. "Please, take a seat."

"Th-thank you," the Wind Chime Pokémon said, huge blush forming all over her face. She floated to the available chair, although she was still hovering over it and her flap was resting on it.

Seating himself back in, the Psi Pokémon continued, "So, I presume you've been having a good time here in the castle as well as the Residential Area?"

"Wh-why yes, I-I have. S-so this is an a-amazing palace you live in. Though i-it must be something y-you're used to."

"That's true but this place is special to me precisely because I'm used to it. This is my home, after all. It's good to see that you seem to like it,too."

"I-I don't think th-there's anyone who would. Li-like one of y-your parents, right?"

"Yes, that was my mother. I recall her telling me all about how she came to this castle for the first time, the feeling of wonder and amazement she felt when first walking down the halls, etc., etc. You might be feeling the same way when you entered this place."

"Ye-yes, I am. Spea-speaking of your parents, will I be a-able to meet your them at s-some point today?"

"Well, yes, you would but only if you get further in this competition. This is merely arranged first meetings. You could even call these interviews."

"I-I see."

"So how do you picture your life here in the castle should you become queen?"

Belle immediately felt incredibly perturbed, stuttering more madly like before. "_M-m-me!?_ I-I-I-I, uh, uh, uh-! We-well, ma-maybe I-I wo-would, uh…"

Eventually, she somewhat calmed down and the rest of the conversation went something like this, the Chimecho faltering greatly with her words while Reynard himself was unbothered by it all and even enjoyed her company.

However, the meeting sooner or later came to an end. Prince and potential candidate exchanged their goodbyes and the latter left the room, door shutting behind her. Once the Wind Chime Pokemon heard the door close behind her, however, she let out a sigh of exasperation.

"I'm assuming that it was taxing for you."

Belle turned around to find a lady Meowstic by her side. She answered, "I-I su-suppose so but, at the very lea-least, I've done ev-everything I could."

The Constrict Pokemon nodded. "Agreed. Now you just have to wait with me. It should only take a minute or two for our prince to decide whether or not to approve of you. So please follow me."

The sound-related psychic followed the stoic feline through the castle and stopped at another room, the other female candidates who have gone before her already inside and a Bronzong levitating guard near the empty doorway.

The female Meowstic said, "This is one of the castle's dens, one closest to the front doors where we came in. It was decided all of the women we escort to and from the castle will be waiting here after their turns meeting the prince for convenience."

" I-I see," the Chimecho said, floating into said room. _So many rooms in this castle, several of which being used just for the search._

The Constrict Pokemon then made an announcement to the whole room. "Everyone, it should only be a minute or two longer before the final results are determined. In the meantime, so please wait in here."

Just as the stoic feline had said, it wasn't long before a certain Avianoid Pokémon came along. After a bit of discussing between the two, the lady Meowstic announced that she and her comrade would escort them to the front doors before telling them the results.

And so the group of girls, with the stoic feline and colorful, winged psychic at the front and the levitating bell at the back, first walked to the room that had all of the accessories and put back everything that's been used. Then everyone walked to the castle's enormous front door. The results were stated, as promised. To the Wind Chime Pokémon's surprise, she succeeded, along with four other girls.

At that, the group split in two. One going with the Bronze Bell Pokémon to go back home after they've given back the headbands and the other going with the Constrict Pokémon to go to the Residential Area while still keeping their headbands. As the latter group trekked on, Belle was still in astonishment over her accomplishment.

_Wow! I can't believe it! I did it! I really, really did it! But how? How did I do it? Sure, I was trying to impress him but I didn't think I could actually do it..._

The other girls were excited as well, eager to share the news with anyone they know back at the Residential Area. They tried talking to the Chimecho of their group but got confused how she got picked due to her type of nature. The sound-related psychic may not have liked the comments but bared with it, wanting to get back to her little Bell Pokémon brother and his friends as well as her own friend. Eventually, the group had reached the Residential Area, although it dissolved quickly due to the girls rushing to their friends and/or family, not wanting to wait even a second longer to share the news.

The Wind Chime Pokémon was about to go looking for her own friends and family until she noticed something. A kind of sound. Like someone nearby was frustrated by something. It was a bit difficult to hear it over everyone else around and the sound-related psychic probably wouldn't have heard it if it wasn't for the fact that the sound occurred nearby her.

Belle turned around towards those sounds of frustration, seeing that it was Gavin, busily looking back and forth between several pieces of paper being held up by Psychic. He seemed to be struggling keeping track of tons of information straight in his head.

The Chimecho wasn't sure what to do but she tried getting his attention. "Ex-excuse m-me... D-do you...?"

It took her a while but the Sigilyph took notice of someone talking to him. "Yes, how may I help you?"

"Ah, s-sorry," the Wind Chime Pokemon apologized. "I-It's just that I-I heard noises o-over here and you were ju-just so stressed. I-I thought-"

"Stop. Please stop," the Avianoid Pokémon interrupted. "Don't misunderstand; your concern is appreciated but you really shouldn't do that. I'm just doing my job. Naturally, it would provide stress from time to time. However, more importantly, because I'm in charge of the search for Psychic Island's new queen, you associating yourself with me can hurt your candidacy. It can be seen as you kissing up to me so you could increase your chances of winning."

"We-well, y-you do have a point b-but-"

"No ands, ifs, or buts. I will have none of that. Now please, go back to the Residential Area and let me do my job."

"B-b-but-"

"Please, if you go on with that sort of nonsense, you will be sent home."

Belle clearly wanted to help Gavin but was now presented with the consequences of doing such a thing. Thinking about it, she didn't want to let everyone down by failing so soon, especially after she succeeded at something she didn't expect to accomplish. Not to mention she didn't quite want to go back home just yet, knowing exactly what awaits for her and Roli there.

So the Chimecho simply said, "A-all right. I-I understand."

"Good. Now go on your way. I still have scads of work to do and I need to get to it immediately." And so the Sigilyph resumed what he was doing. But not before a little outburst escaped from the Wind Chime Pokémon.

"Just promise me one thing, ok?" She slightly flinched from the Avianoid Pokémon's stunned look when he turned around. "Tha-that you'll find someone to talk about your problems to. It doesn't have to be me. It just has to be someone you feel comfortable talking to about your problems. If you don't, then that stress will rise and build up and then really hurt you."

After that, several moments of silence has passed, Gavin just staring at Belle. Eventually, the latter felt so awkward that the feeling became a heavy weight. Not to mention she felt a little confused as to how she was able to say over one sentence without stuttering.

Finally, feeling more anxious now, the Chimecho said, "I-I'm s-sorry. I mu-must've said something that I shouldn't have. Sin-since I have nothing else to say, I'll be going now. Good-bye!"

At that, the Wind Chime Pokemon left, rushing back to the Residential Area and began to look for her friends and family. In the meantime, the Avianoid Pokemon had something that he thought was a strange feeling.

_Now that I think about it, just now was the first time any woman has ever spared any thoughts for me or given me any consideration… Well, anyone other than Mother._

Gavin stayed in his thoughts for a while before he snapped himself out of it and went back to work. Soon, he was going along with the next group of ten girls to the castle. While those women getting ready to meet their prince, the Sigilyph went on his way to a wall which has the royal family crest, a hallowed-out circle with a four-pointed star inside. However, there was one detail on this particular crest that makes it different from the other crests in the castle. It was right next to door of the Meeting Room where a certain regal Kadabra was in.

Once the Avianoid Pokémon found the family crest that he was looking for, he pushed the wall below it, revealing a hidden door that was of the same color as the wall. Then he went in, quickly lighting the candles in there before closing the door. Minutes had passed before the small door behind his head opened, the face of a specific Psi Pokémon Prince looking through.

"Ah, Prince Reynard, how nice it is to see you," Gavin greeted him. "I presume you already have an opinion of the first female you've met?"

"Why, yes, of course. This is about that lovely Girafarig. Her name is Bem. She's succeeded in making a good first impression."

"Excellent, young sire. Another woman is now a possible choice for your wife and our queen," the Sigilyph said, scribbling on his papers about the latest report.

While he was doing that, Reynard stated, "I also wanted to check to see how well you're doing. This type of thing only occurs every few decades so this must be the most exhausting thing you have ever done."

"Well, yes, admittedly, it is, but I assure you. It is of no problem for me. I am quite honored to be trusted in helping you and your family with this search. You have absolutely nothing to worry about, including me, although the concerns are appreciated."

"But-"

"Please, I insist. I will do this regardless!"

"Well... since you're so sure, I'll leave you to do your work. Be sure to remember to rest, especially when you need to."

"Yes, of course. Thank you, young sire."

And so the small door closed, leaving the Avianoid Pokémon with peace and quiet needed to do his work. Although he couldn't help but reminded of how a specific sound-related psychic was worried about him before he got to work.

In the meantime, outside the castle and by one of its sides, were tons more pokemon, most of them being the same kinds as Psychic Island's army. There was, however, two pokemon uncommon in the army although one of them was of high ranking.

"I keep telling you to do what you're told! I'm the one who chooses whether or not to pass you! I could decide to not pass you since you _can't_ follow Arceus damn orders!" That came from a black and purple bipedal pokemon with a black orb on her torso along with some more of those orbs on her head, a swirly tail behind her. She was face-to-face with the one arguing with her, snorting through her snout.

"Well, who puts a Grumpig in charge of training new recruits, anyways?" That was from a black bipedal pokemon with a purple face, white ribbons on his head and torso, and pigtail-like extensions attached to his head. A good, hard bonk was delivered to said head.

"Gothorita don't typically become apprentices, let alone actual knights of this castle, serving the royal family! So how about showing a little gratitude you even made it this far?! And while you're at it, some respect to me, your surperior!" the black and purple pig demanded.

"Just what did you do that was so great, anyways?" the humanoid-shaped psychic questioned.

"You Arceus-dammed apprentice! You don't deserve kindness! You don't deserve any dinner tonight either!"

"WHAT?!"

"In fact, you can spend that time you would've spent eating by doing laps around the castle! 20 of them! No using Psychic on yourself to make it easier or else I'll add Psychic-proof weights for you to carry!"

That made the Gothorita stop, saying instead, "Yes, sir." At that, he began running around the castle.

"Arceus dammit, I don't know what I'm going to do with that boy..." the Grumpig remarked.

At that moment, someone greeted her. "Hi, Mira."

Mira turned and saw that it was a pink and purple floating pokemon, something like pink mist being released from his forehead. Then she greeted the Musharna back. "Back at ya, Ashton. What brings you here?"

"Oh, you know I usually come here to see you."

"Thanks for the flattery. But in case you haven't noticed, I'm busy right now."

"How about we hang out when we both have time? I'm free tonight." Then Ashton regretted the last part. _Shoot! That sounded like an invitation to a date! Too fast! That's too fast!_

The psychic pig raised what would have an eyebrow if she had one, seeming to think the same thing as the dream-eating psychic. "Thanks but no thanks. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do. Especially with an apprentice in particular."

"Oh, you mean that Gothorita? Gabe was acting up again?"

Mira could sigh and reply, "Yes. See you later, Ashton."

"Ri-right. I'll see you around, too!" At that, Ashton made a hasty leave, believing he overstepped his boundaries. _Shoot! I messed up! Let's hope Mira will want to spend time with me tonight!_

As for Belle, she was found by everyone she knew there. Sight, Fortune, Dez, Dustin, and especially Roli. They were excited upon seeing her back. In fact, they glomped her, the Bell Pokemon leading the stampede.

"Sis! Sis! How did it go? Did you make it? Huh? Huh? Huh?"

"Hey! Roli! Calm down! And please get off me!" the Chimecho told him.

"Come on, Roli, let your sister breathe," the Xatu of the group said, helping in getting the little Chingling off. Then she asked, "Well, Belle, are you staying here a little longer or are you going home with your brother?"

The Wind Chime Pokemon took deep breaths once she could, being given space. Then she noticed everyone looking at her expectedly. Even the three little Natus seemed to have been hoping she'd pass. However, all of this just made her a little nervous.

"I-I-I will be sta-staying here," Belle announced, drowned out at the last word by the cheers of everyone else. She also got tackled by her brother again.

"I knew it! I knew you could do it, Sis! I knew you could!" the excited Bell Pokemon cried out happily.

"I told you to calm down! And to get off of me!" His sister repeated.

After a while of telling the Chimecho congratulations, they resumed their life in the Residential Area, everything more or less unchanging. But then, over the next week, more and more girls who had already succeeded with the prince during the first meeting were being sent home. It was because they were flirting with some of the soldiers of Psychic Island or Gavin. Those girls afterwards claimed they weren't aware of what they were doing, almost as if they hypnotized to do it or were in a trance as they did it. Regardless, the unfortunate females were disqualified and sent back home, no matter how much they pleaded for a second chance. It did seem strange but it was only several females doing so and the times it happened were few and far in between.

It didn't go unnoticed by a certain Mystic Pokémon and even talked about it with her friend while their brothers were once again playing with each other. "It just feels suspicious, Belle. Those girls really seemed to not know what they were doing, especially when I saw them myself when they were being sent back home."

"It se-seemed that way to me, too, b-but they could have been pretending. They could be really good at acting," the Wind Chime Pokemon disagreed.

"But surely they knew doing that sort of thing would cost them their candidacy, right? Yet, for some reason, they did it anyways," Sight insisted.

"Sight, jus-just because we're psychics doesn't automatically mean we're always intelligent. That feels like a stereotype, now that I think about it."

"They would have had a chance to marry a prince! Is it really believable that they'd give that up just for some casual flirting?"

Before the Xatu could continue, another voice joined the conversation. "Yes, it does seem far of a stretch to believe and it's such a pity for those who were disqualified but I'm not so sure how trying to figure it out like it's a mystery is going to do any good."

The two psychic females turned to the direction of the new voice. It belonged to a thin, mostly white and green pokemon who seemed like she was wearing a dress and had short, green hair.

"Who are you?" the Mystic Pokémon asked.

"My name is Lynadi," the Gardevoir said, introducing herself. "Sorry for just joining in the conversation like that. I just like to meet new pokemon and make friends with them. And I couldn't help myself when I heard what you girls were talking about."

"Oh, that's fine," Sight assured her. "I'm Sight and this is my friend Belle. So what do you think about it? The women who are being sent home because of the flirting, I mean."

"Well, you were right that it doesn't seem normal," the Embrace Pokemon started, seating herself on the ground, "but I think Belle's right, too. Everyone's capable of doing something stupid every once in a while and that something can be unbelievably stupid. It happens more often than you'd think. I just find this hard to take since some of my friends that I've made here are those who gotten disqualified for that reason. It's so hard for me to see a friend look so down and get sent away like that."

"Th-there you ha-have it, Si-Sight. Th-There's n-no arguing with tha-that," Belle voiced, noticeably more nervous than before.

"Is there something wrong? You're stuttering quite a bit," Lynadi asked, worried.

"I-I-I-I'm fi-fine! Re-Really!" the Chimecho tried to assure her, although it obviously wasn't very convincing and just made the Gardevoir worry even more.

While that was going on, the Xatu thought about what the emotionally-sensitive psychic had said. The psychic bird knew she had a point since it was put that way but the feelings of suspicion remained. She decided to rid herself of such feelings and join in the conversation once again.

"So, Lynadi, how have things been like for you since you've got here?"

"Oh, it has been fantastic!" the Embrace Pokemon exclaimed, now excited. "The food is delicious and the weather is wonderful! Especially when it's not raining. Then I'll have to stuck indoors and not doing much of anything. But the best of all are all the pokemon I can make friends with here! An anxious but still charming Reuniclus, a delightfully sassy Espeon and her Umbreon sister who has such incredible emotional strength, and a Braixen with such endearing quirks!"

"An Umbreon? Oh, I remember. Some non-psychic type pokemon can evolve into psychic types," The Mystic Pokemon noted.

"Yes. Although, possibly due to almost everyone on the island being psychic pokemon, everyone's wary of dark pokemon. But no one should be treated as outcasts. I hope, at the very least, someone will understand that, especially if they see me and Marcia be friends," Lynadi declared.

"Mar-Marcia?" the Wind Chime Pokemon questioned.

The Gardevoir nodded. "Yes, Marcia. She's a Malamar who I befriended with since the very first day the search for our new queen had started."

"S-so how is sh-she like?" the music-related psychic asked.

"Well, Marcia is lively and assertive and she really knows how to take charge when the situation calls for it. All of that sounds rather suitable for a queen," the Embrace Pokemon explained, describing her friend.

"I think I'd like to meet her. Where is she?" Sight voiced, turning her around to find a Malamar among the crowd, although there were several of them spotted.

"Oh, I can go get her to meet you girls. Be right back!" At that, Lynadi rushed off to find the Malamar in question.

"Si-Sight, may-maybe I should excuse myself," Belle said.

"Really? Why?" the psychic bird asked.

"Well, i-it's because Lynadi said that this Mar-Marcia is lively and assertive. I don't think I would do so well with someone like that."

"Oh, don't be silly. Surely Lynadi would have enough common sense to not be friends with someone who's absolutely unbearable."

"I heard there were two little girls that Laylie wanted me to meet?"

"It's Lynadi," the Gardevoir corrected, having come back now with the friend she was talking about. "Sight, Belle, this is Marcia. Marcia, this Xatu is Sight and this Chimecho is Belle."

The Xatu and Chimecho felt a little intimidated at having seen the Malamar. After all, she was a mainly purple pokemon and her legs and arms were tentacles. They were even on her head like it was hair. Her hot pink beak was twisted into a type of scowl or something similar. One could tell that it was definitely not a smile.

Then the Overturning Pokemon spoke. "I thought Layla finally found some interesting pokemon this time. But instead, we have here is a little bird who stares in the sun all day and a trembling musical instrument."

The Mystic Pokémon then noticed that her friend really was trembling. Not that she blamed her. Marcia seemed to loom over them, especially when they were sitting on the ground. It was as if the Malamar was trying to state dominance, provided that her body language was any indication.

"Actually, if I really stared in the sun all day, then I wouldn't be here, talking to anyone," the Mystic Pokemon said in her and her friend's defense. "And my friend is just making lovely music. You just have to listen to it very closely. Perhaps even straining your ears a bit but-"

"But nothing! Honestly, what lovely music? This puny, little noisemaker is indeed trembling. You can tell just from the look on her _face!_" At the last word, the Overturned Pokemon quickly and suddenly swooped down low, her face right in front of the Wind Chime Pokemon's. That caused the latter to fall back and land on the ground, letting out a yelp of fear in the process. As for the former, she laughed like she was enjoying it.

Lynadi quickly stepped in. "All right, Marcia, you've already made yourself clear. There's no need to say anymore. So how about we go meet some other friends I've made?"

"Gladly. I'm bored." At that, Marcia turned around and walked away. Or perhaps slithered since her feet were like tentacles.

Either way, the Malamar was waiting for a white and green companion of sorts to join her, clearly impatient. Before the Gardevoir could leave, however, she was stopped by the psychic bird

"Hey, Lynadi! What was that all about?" Sight demanded to know, keeping herself from being heard.

"Yes, I know and I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry," the Embrace Pokemon said, clasping together her hands in a type of begging manner. "So maybe I stretched a detail or two about Marcia."

"Are you serious? Look, Belle is still on the ground and is trembling even harder than before! And I'll have to explain this to her brother if he sees her like this!"

"Yes, I know and I'm so sorry about that. I'm hoping Marcia will change if she had a friend. And it seems like, really, I'm the only one willing to put up with her current behavior. At least she doesn't do any worse than just now since she still wants her candidacy intact. But I promise, though, that you'll have a much friendlier Malamar by the end."

The emotion-sensitive psychic then resumed her way towards the psychic of flexible appendages. Then the two continued on their way to meet more pokemon around the area.

"I certainly hope so. Otherwise Belle will have a heart attack," the Xatu said to herself, trying to help the music-related psychic calm down. Roli sooner or later found his sister the way she was and got worried, making the psychic bird try to explain without making him freak out too much.

As for the Overturned Pokemon and her companion of sorts, they had a soft conversation going on, the former initiating it.

"So, are those two not that much of a threat like I thought they weren't going to be?"

"Yes, I don't think they'll be. I'll need to spend a little more time with the Xatu just to be sure but the Chimecho frightens a little too easily. While she did pass the initial impressions towards the prince, it's more than likely she'll crack under pressure when this competition continues."

"I see. Well, check on that... pokemon... that you said you haven't checked yet. If she's not worth that much trouble, then I don't want to waste that much effort eliminating her."

"Yes, Marcia. I'll get right to it."

"Speaking of girls who aren't worth that much trouble, how about this... Smoochum, you said? Which one was it?"

"Yes, it was a Smoochum. Her name is Sue. I thought we'd have to keep an eye on her but don't worry. Sue is rather... like a child, actually. I don't mean anything particularly bad by it but I can't find a better word at the moment. Anyways, in my opinion, she'll likely be someone that the prince wouldn't be interested in. So I'm sure she won't pass. I'm sure you can win this whole thing!"

"Ugh. It's a good thing our goal is to recognize which girls are my obstacles. Otherwise I'd be annoyed with such an nauseatingly happy lackey."

"Oh, smiling and being happy is not so bad. After all, it helps me get by in life when I feel this way."

"Whatever. Let's just keep up our little mission. Come on."

"Yes, Marcia. Whatever you say."


End file.
